Chapter 1071 Let the Americans Go Ashore
"Marshal Reich, a Chilean He115 seaplane reported that the US fleet was found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, 40-100 nautical miles from the coast of Chile. When it was found, it was heading south and seemed to be preparing to attack Chile."
Holding the telegram he had just received, Air Marshal Kesselring, who had just taken over as the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, walked to Hessmann's side.
After the Soviet-Russian Armistice Agreement was signed, the focus of Germany and the European Community's military operations had shifted from the Eastern Front to the Atlantic, so some personnel adjustments were inevitable. Marshal Kesselring, who came from the Army and the Air Force, was obviously not suitable for commanding the Atlantic Front to fight a decisive battle with the US Atlantic Fleet, so he handed over the post of Commander of the Atlantic Front to Admiral Lütjens, and returned to serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force. However, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, he rarely went to his own headquarters to work, and most of the time he worked in the General Staff like the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Raeder. Like Guderian, the two were actually Hessmann's deputies.
"Attack Chile?"
This news was indeed beyond Hessman's expectations, and also beyond the judgment of the Atlantic Front Command, the European Combined Fleet Command and the German Navy Command on the Atlantic War situation - none of them had plans to fight the United States in the Pacific.
Herssman took the telegram and looked at it. There was only a short line of words on it. There was no other information except reporting that a US fleet was approaching the coast of Chile.
"That's all?" Hessman handed the copy of the telegram to the Navy Commander-in-Chief Raeder.
"I'm afraid the Chileans themselves don't quite understand the situation," Kesselring said, "They don't have many seaplanes for reconnaissance."
"What about us?" Hessmann asked, "How much power do we have in Chile?"
"There is a 10th submarine group under the submarine command in Valparaiso Port, with 18 of the most advanced Type 21 submarines." The person who answered this question was Admiral Raeder, who told Hessmann, "But 12 of the 18 Type 21 submarines are currently on missions in the Pacific, and only 6 are left in Valparaiso Port."
Submarine warfare is generally not full-scale, usually one-third stay in port for rest, one-third are on the way to the battlefield, and one-third are performing missions such as disrupting commerce, laying mines, and reconnaissance.
The submarines owned by the German Navy Submarine Command are mainly used for disrupting commerce, so the Type 21 submarines with Valparaiso Port as their home port are also used for disrupting commerce, so only 6 are left in port.
"Only 6 submarines?" Hessmann saw that Raeder had finished speaking and Kesselring did not add anything, so he was not very determined, so he asked again.
"That's all." Kesselring shrugged. "The Atlantic Front Command has never thought of deploying heavy troops in the Pacific... It's under the jurisdiction of the 9th Fleet. And the New Azbanian Federation doesn't want us to station too many troops on their land."
The 9th Fleet of the European Community Navy is a headquarters fleet, with its headquarters located in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, responsible for operations in the Pacific. However, since Japan has always been uneasy about the existence of the 9th Fleet, the European Community has limited the strength of the 9th Fleet to the lowest level. In fact, it is just a fleet for show.
However, the Pacific theater is still under the jurisdiction of the 9th Fleet and has never been taken seriously. In the eyes of the German General Staff, the protagonists on the Pacific battlefield are the Japanese after all.
In addition, the New Azbanian Federal Government led by Juan Peron regards his country as a world power. In terms of overestimating its own strength, he has learned a lot from Mussolini!
Therefore, Juan Peron has always been reluctant to allow European countries' troops to be stationed on the land of the New Azbanian Federation.
"Six submarines can't stop the American fleet." Hersman crossed his arms and frowned, "It seems that we still underestimated the wisdom of the Americans..."
"And the navy and air force of New Azbania," Marshal Kesselring reminded, "They bought many of our planes and ships, and formed their own Pacific Fleet and Atlantic Fleet."
The three countries that make up the New Azbania Federation, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, were all well-known wealthy countries in the 1940s, similar to the Arab oil tycoons in later generations. They are not short of money, and they can also export resources and agricultural products that the European Community urgently needs. Therefore, many advanced weapons and equipment can be exchanged - in this regard, New Azbania is much better than Japan. What Japan can export to Europe is quite limited, and the largest amount is natural rubber. Therefore, in Japan-Europe trade, Japan often encounters the problem of being unable to pay, while the New Azbania Federation can pay in full for all the weapons and equipment they can buy, and they can also offer high prices.
Therefore, since the beginning of 1944, when Argentina, Chile and Uruguay formed the New Azbanian Alliance and joined the Axis Powers, a large number of relatively advanced weapons and equipment (mostly eliminated by the German army) have been continuously shipped to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
Using these equipment, the New Azbanian Federation established a considerable army, navy and air force in a relatively short period of time.
Among them, the New Azbanian Navy, which was formed by the merger of the former Chilean Navy and the Argentine Navy, actually formed its own two-ocean fleet!
However, the equipment and operational thinking of the New Asbania Navy's two-ocean fleet are outdated. Except for one "Kesselring" class aircraft carrier that is actually operated by German crews, there is no second aircraft carrier. , and there are not many submarines. The main force of the fleet is the battleship. In addition to the three battleships originally belonging to the Argentine and Chilean navies, including the "Rivadavia", the "Moreno", and the "La Torre", there are also ships from the European Community and the Roman Empire. Purchased 5 old-fashioned ships including the modernized "Hessen", "Hannover", "Schlesing", "Schleswig-Holstein" and "Duilio" Battleship replenishment - in fact, it is not entirely replenishment. These old battleships can still play a role in shore bombardment and inland warfare.
In addition, the New Asbania Navy is also equipped with many torpedo ships and torpedo boats also purchased from Europe for offshore defense. When dealing with the American landing fleet, these small and medium-sized ships may be more effective than their battleships.
In addition to surface and underwater ships, the New Asbania Air Force and Naval Aviation are also equipped with hundreds of fighter aircraft including Ju88, He115, SM.79, Bf109 and Fokker Zero.
"Then can their Pacific Fleet and air power be used?" Hersman directly asked the question to Admiral Redl.
"No," Redel shook his head and replied: "It doesn't work at all! No matter what kind of weapons the New Asbania Navy is equipped with, it cannot be an opponent of the Americans. Because their officers and soldiers are not of high quality and lack He has no training and no combat experience. Not only can he not compare with the naval officers and soldiers of Germany and France, but the officers and soldiers of the Roman navy are also much better than them. "
"So there's nothing we can do?" Hersman asked.
"You can't say that," Kesselin frowned deeply. "We still have Ju288 and Me264, and we have our airport near Buenos Aires. From there, we can take off from the U.S. fleet close to Chile. . If the Hs293D missile and the 'Reaper' missile are used, it should be able to hit the US fleet preparing to attack Chile. "
Hs293D and "Reaper", two TV-guided remote-controlled missiles, are undoubtedly the two killers in the hands of the German Air Force and Naval Aviation!
The former is smaller and can carry 2-3 pieces by the twin-engine Ju288. The latter is huge in size, but its destructive power and reliability are satisfactory. However, it cannot be mounted on an aircraft of the Ju288 level and can only be mounted on a 4-engine heavy bomber like the Me264.
"Hit with missiles?" Hessman smiled, "This is the trump card that has been hidden all this time!"
Kesselring nodded. Both the Hs293D missile and the "Reaper" missile use TV remote control guidance technology, which is called black technology! Ju288 and Me264 can be allowed to launch missiles 25-30 kilometers away from enemy ships - although this distance is impossible to avoid enemy carrier-based aircraft, it is enough to avoid carrier-based anti-aircraft fire attacks.
Therefore, as long as the German side can seize battlefield air superiority, it can destroy the enemy's large fleet at a very slight cost!
However, now Germany or the European Community does not have any fighter jets in the Pacific and cannot gain air supremacy at all. Therefore, it is risky to use Ju288 and Me264 mounted missiles for attack.
"This is the only way," Kesselring said. "If we want to mobilize the fleet from Belen, the voyage will be as high as 6,200 nautical miles, and it will take 16 days at a speed of 16 knots. Once Belen's fleet leaves, the Americans may move from Belen to Belem. Attack in the Caribbean... Because the Americans own the Panama Canal, they can quickly move the fleet from the Pacific to the Caribbean and the Atlantic! "
Now the Panama Canal is the trump card in the hands of the Americans! With the canal, the Americans can quickly mobilize fleets between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and can concentrate their forces on one of the two ocean battlefields, which once again magnifies the United States' numerical advantage!
"Santiago won't be a problem, right?" Hersman thought for a while and then asked about the defense situation of Santiago, the original capital of Chile and now the capital of the Chilean region of the New Asbania Federation.
"The problem is not big," Kesselin said. "The Chilean Army is not weak, and there are a lot of mountains and hills around Santiago, and it is far away from the coastline, which is conducive to defense. Unless the number of US troops landing reaches more than 100,000, Santiago will not be able to move quickly. Fall."
"Then let the Americans come ashore. Only in this way can we have a chance to fight a decisive battle at sea. We are not afraid of the numerical advantage of the United States now. What we are afraid of is that we cannot fight the Americans decisively on the ocean." Hessman thought for a while, "First Several aircraft carriers were sent from Belém to reinforce Chile, and a Marine Division was boarded, ready to go at any time.”